Ancient Greece created many of the basic foundations that are used in modern civilization to this day, from democracy to politics to philosophy. In the field of philosophy many names have stood out: Heraclitus, Aristotle, Plato... However, possibly the best known name among them is Socrates! So, today we will talk about 20 of the best Socrates' phrases so that you can understand how he thought!

And who was Socrates?

Socrates (469 B.C. to 399 B.C.), a philosopher of the classical Greek period, made great contributions in the fields of ethics and politics, thus being a great thinker who never wrote anything either in philosophy or about himself.

He was an orator engaged in dialectic and knock-knock debates to elevate civic reflection and question Athenian common sense. Since he did not write down his thoughts, this was left to his disciples and posthumous scholars.

Because of this, much of what we know about the Socrates' phrases comes from the interpretations of others, thus practically making him a character, or several. His disciple Plato alone presented three versions of him.

Yet there is no doubt of his existence or his legacy...

Historians and Hellenists seek to determine his concrete steps in history, while philosophers aim only at his wisdom, taking him as a central reference in many questions.

Because of so many sources there is a wealth of material attributed to the Athenian and thus numerous sentences telling his story and philosophy of life.

Here we will list and describe twenty Socrates' famous quotes for being associated with it throughout history!

"Know thyself"

This phrase closely associated with him appeared earlier in the temple of Apollo, where an oracle declared that no one was wiser than Socrates.

Doubting this statement, he went out into Athens to talk to and question various people on many subjects, in order to find wiser answers to questions to which he had no answers. However, he did not find this in the wise men of Athens.

"I approached a man who was considered wise, and I thought to myself that I was more prepared than he. No one knows more than the other, but he believes he does, even though it is not true. I do not know more than he does, and I am conscious of it, so I am wiser than he is."

His search through public debate in Athens made him realize his own limitations and misconceptions and those of others, so he did to overcome his defects through insights and discipline and to encourage the same in others.

"I only know that I know nothing"

There are doubts that he said it that way, but the phrase defines the attitude of Socrates It is not a statement of humility, but an affirmation of not being able to know something with absolute certainty, while still wanting to learn more.

"Wisdom begins in reflection"

As we have shown in other Socrates' phrases Thus, this would be one way to avoid presumption and arrogance.

"An unexamined life is not worth living"

Socrates did not act by reflex, but always reflected in the way he acted and thought. He valued the personal challenge to life.

"I can't teach anyone anything, I can only make them think"

The philosopher, after the oracle's statement, did not think of himself as a teacher with lessons to pass on, but considered it his mission to instigate the citizens of Athens with his statements.

"Wise is he who knows the limits of his own ignorance"

Socrates put his life into this task of investigating others and thereby also learning about himself. He noticed that the men of Athens were wiser at first sight, but they did not answer their questions comprehensively.

"Life without science is a kind of death"

He believed that in life one should always evaluate one's own beliefs through logical point of view mechanisms or empiricism.

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"Man does evil because he does not know what good is"

For Socrates, there was no such thing as "weakness of will, Therefore, in possession of the correct information, man would choose to do good and not evil.

"Think not ill of those who do wrong; think only that they are mistaken"

Practically a restatement of the previous sentence!

"He whom the word does not educate, neither will the stick educate"

A statement about the value of education over punishment just for the sake of punishment. The value is in leading the other to question and educate himself.

"It is the custom of a fool when he errs to complain about the other; It is the custom of the wise to complain about himself"

A conscious person only blames himself for his imperfections!

"By having the least desires one comes closest to the gods"

Socrates was once described by his disciple Alcibiades as a true "rock", for his self-control made him impervious to seduction, as well as unbeatable in speeches and in the hardships of war.

"How many things are unnecessary to me"

When he saw the quantity of objects for sale in the market, Socrates aimed only at the indispensable, because he valued the austere life from a young age.

"Under the direction of a strong general, there will never be weak soldiers"

In his lifetime Socrates participated as a soldier in the Athenian wars, and these experiences would have taught him the value of a capable leader in leading his subordinates.

"Just as it would be ridiculous to call the son of our tailor or our shoemaker to make us a suit or boots, they not having learned the trade, so it would be ridiculous to admit into the government of the republic the sons of those men who rule with rightness and prudence, they not having the same ability as their fathers."

Benefiting from Athenian youth culture, wrapped in social and political training, Socrates knew of the need for capable rulers.

"I am totally weird and only create but perplexity"

Among the Socrates' phrases This one highlights how unconventional and authentic Socrates was.

"Love makes us adopt noble attitudes to be worthy of the beloved"

It is said that for Socrates love was the search for beauty and goodness.

"Love is the passionate impulse of a soul toward wisdom, and wisdom is both knowledge and virtue."

This phrase shows love in the sense of spiritual elevation on the path to Truth as adjectivized by Socrates, thus counterposing love in the more conventional sense.

"If you get a good wife, you will be happy; if you get a bad wife, you will become a philosopher.

Socrates married Xanthippa, with whom he had nothing in common, so they had a strained relationship on her part. However, this was the philosopher's motivation to stay with her, because in his aim to better relate to people he believed that if he got along with her, he would get along with anyone.

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